So a lot of things have been happening lately. A friend of mine passed away, and two weeks later my mom died, so I've been very scattered over the past couple of months. There's some big things coming up for MPA, however, and note the release of the Durga On The Wing of Abomination ep on Kimberly Dawn records -- you can buy a copy from them via their myspace page. It's very much along the lines of Church of Mandrax. There's some very big news on the way, but I'm still pretty busy, though I wanted to let people know I'm around. More soon.

Both Mar'ah (on Ruralfaune) and Church of Mandrax (on Sentient Recognition Archives) are now available either from the respective labels or directly from me for seven bucks each, or you can get both albums plus the unreleased collection of OOP singles and live performances Neural Amplified Stupornaut Anthems for twelve bucks postage paid. Check http://www.cryptonarrative.com/mpa for album info, or msg me here if you wanna work out some kinda deal. These two albums are deformed twins, and connections might become apparent when compared and contrasted, but I'm not gonna spill any beans.

Here's the blurb for Mar'ah: “Mar'ah is a warm coat that you've had for years with notes in the pockets from friends you don't know anymore, it's a rainy day at the airport watching people waiting for their lives to resume, it's Hebrew for mirror and for vision (as in to have a), it's a pillow heavy with old dreams, it's Joe Hicks singing if it feels good it's alright, it's sunlight through the window across a slow afternoon, it's Arabic for the woman, it's threadbare tape hiss florescent hum and jackdaws in leafless trees, it's a half-remembered song bound to something she once whispered, it's a sullen Sunday morning with your headphones on and your quilt around your shoulders, it's frost on the window and the blood like black syrup in the chest and it feels so good inside yourself don't wanna move.”

And here's the blurb for Church of Mandrax: "The title Church of Mandrax combines the John Cale/Terry Riley album with a brand name for methaquaalone, and that's probably a good place to start, but even better is if you've ever heard Jerry Goldsmith's score for The Illustrated Man, that's what I wanted Church of Mandrax to sound like. I was going for that sullen psychedelic early '70s bummer sound, like taking too much cold medicine and staying up late watching Night Gallery, only a lot more low-rent and congested and using any piece of equipment I could get my grubby hands on. The songs are all pretty short and wrap around staggered nowhere Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer and AX80 riffs blanketed beneath sewer recordings, daisy-chained dictaphones, blown amps and rewired intercom systems. The album is an introduction of the mythical Midwestern witch Vons Serin, the central character of the upcoming Theater of Diminished Faculties series of stories, albums and radio plays. Better performers I shamelessly ripped off include Lionel Marchetti, Steelpole Bathtub, Maggi Payne, Loop, The Ballroom/Millennium/Sagatarius, East Bionic Symphonia and Luciano Berio, among countless others. MPA has released albums on MYMWLY, Black Horizons, DumpsterScore, Sloow Tapes, Small Doses and Ruralfaune, and has opened shows for Demons, John Wiese and Deathroes as well as performing as a guest member of Number None. Play at any volume you like. More info at http://www.cryptonarrative.com/mpa. This album marks the tenth year MPA has played totally fake sunshine noise in basements and abandoned barns around the midwest, and I thank you all for your continued indulgence. "

I am pleased to announce that MAR'AH, sixty solid minutes of glam drone in the cdr format, is now available from Ruralfaune. Your best bet is to buy one from Bruno at http://www.myspace.com/ruralfaunelovesyo..u -- he'll cut you a pretty good deal (probably seven euros), so don't freak about international shipping. I'll let you know when mine get here. Get it on! Here's the description I wrote for the label: "Mar'ah is a warm coat that you've had for years with notes in the pockets from friends you don't know anymore, it's a rainy day at the airport watching people waiting for their lives to resume, it's Hebrew for mirror and for vision (as in to have a), it's a pillow heavy with old dreams, it's Joe Hicks singing if it feels good it's alright, it's sunlight through the window across a slow afternoon, it's Arabic for the woman, it's threadbare tape hiss florescent hum and jackdaws in leafless trees, it's a half-remembered song bound to something she once whispered, it's a sullen Sunday morning with your headphones on and your quilt around your shoulders, it's frost on the window and the blood like black syrup in the chest and it feels so good inside yourself don't wanna move."

That’s right, the ten-years-in-the-making tape abomination known as Blearyeared is now available via Tipped Bowler Tapes (http://www.tippedbowler.com/). C65 of the reassembled soundtrack to the uncompleted film about three babysitters who wanted to destroy reality. Way more information than you ever wanted available at http://www.cryptonarrative.com/mpa/blearyeared -- my copies are on the way, and if I’m holding one for you I’ll get it in the mail early next week. Copies from me include a cdr of additional material and the usual junk -- msg me here or email mpa cryptonarrative com for ordering instructions. Seven bucks USA, ten international (paypal/money order). I might be up for trades, but I’m pretty strapped for money after the jaw/spine infection so if you can swing cash I’d definitely appreciate it.

Two new tracks on the page -- a pretty small clip of the stupornaut anthem A High Potential For Abuse, which is *probably* gonna end up on a split at some point along with the live version of Drift When You Have No Gravity, possibly, plus the first track from the upcoming cassette Blearyeared. That album might be out by the end of the year on Tipped Bowler, but it might not, we'll see how it goes. Four tracks of what is easily the densest stuff I've done in ages, endless layers of tapery recorded for an incomplete (and probably never to be completed) short film. Tracklist:

01. Humming For Vengeance
02. The Stripping Dead
03. First Thought Worst Thought (Eadem Mutata Resurgo)
04. The Wearer Of The Skull, Enemy Of Everything 

2008 will (hopefully) also see the release of (in approximate order of release) Death Among The Poppies (homemade synth narcosis), There Is No Hiding Place (if you've heard a couple albums, you know how the last track is usually kinda more tuneful? This whole album is like that) and finally and most importantly And So On For Ever, which will be a combined book and album release. That will probably be it for actual albums for the year.

The Demons show was outstanding; if you get a chance to check them out do so at all costs. Also, Iowa City really represented that night; it's crazy how much good music is going on there right now.

That's right, nearly an hour of blackeyed creep from myself and practicioners of the opioid tidal monoriff Robe. means bloodslowing stuporsonic narcosis for everyone. Andy from DumpsterScore describes it as "Medroxy Progesterone Acetate starts things off with what sounds like synths and home made electronics processing a meat slicer, which happens to be connected to your ears, slowly taking what it needs to make a sandwich out of your senses. Robe flows from the deepest fibers of your subwoofers, making all of the magnets in your house rattle and the tar in your lungs release the cancer. This cycle of alternating styles repeats for nearly an hour over 5 tracks until your mind is destroyed. Excellent dark split that would make someone like H.P. Lovecraft a fan of noise!", which ain't too far off. Worth noting that for these tracks Robe. have a kind of Zoviet:France vibe, absolutely gorgeous and worth the price of admission alone. You can get copies from DumpsterScore (along with some other new stuff from them) at http://geocities.com/discodumpster/ or else hit me up, as I've got copies available for trade (and if you really want, I could sell you one for six bucks). Thanks.

So here, in a nutshell, are the guiding principles of my band and my label. For all the releases I do myself, there is an initial run of 25 copies which are available for trade only. These copies generally come with texts, photographs, maps and various other ephemera. After (if!) the first twentyfive go, the album becomes an unlimited edition, available for sale or trade (generally going for six bucks), for which we accept Paypal or money order. I am currently working on getting all the older releases either available or consolidated into a collection. These copies include the album only, unless requested. Copies with extra stuff go for the same price, but they might take a little longer to reach you. I will generally send you an email when your copy is sent, and if you have any difficulty let me know and I'll try to get things fixed.

Myspace-pertinent info: I will not advertise my releases in your comments section, nor will I advertise live shows unless I actually expect to see you there. I'll send a bulletin when a release becomes available in the limited and in the unlimited editions, and will maybe send a general band/label update once a month or so as to what's available, any reviews, that kinda stuff. There's a myspace page because it's an easy way to let a number of people know what's going on and to keep track of bands/people I'm interested in, and it works okay. I don't actually think I have 390 "friends", and I'm completely aware that it has signifigant limitations, which is why I have a website at http://www.cryptonarrative.com/mpa for more info.

I'm basically stumbling through the whole area of "promotion", and I have very conflicted feelings about it, but I think (or at least hope) there's a right way to do things. If you have any suggestions, let me know.

So Friday afternoon I was hit and run by some crazy SUV a couple blocks from my house, and the good news is I'm fine but the bad news is the car is basically totaled. Hopefully you shouldn't notice any delay as far as upcoming shipping goes, but if it seems like a couple extra days between order and arrival that's why. What a weird year.

Trying to get on a couple shows (I'm figuring I'll have the vehicle situation solved in a month), and while chances are extremely slim that I'll weasel onto the Yellow Swans/Burial Hex/Raccoo-oo-oon/LWA show in Iowa City on October 29th I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that I'll make it onto the Nautical Almanac (!) show on the 26th of this month, and maybe a couple other shows around that time.